Midnight Cowboy | |
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Theatrical release poster
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Directed by | John Schlesinger |
Produced by | Jerome Hellman |
Screenplay by | Waldo Salt |
Based on |
Midnight Cowboy by James Leo Herlihy |
Starring | |
Music by | John Barry |
Cinematography | Adam Holender |
Edited by | Hugh A. Robertson |
Distributed by | United Artists |
Release date
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Running time
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113 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $3.2 million |
Box office | $44.8 million |
Midnight Cowboy is a 1969 American drama film based on the 1965 novel of the same name by James Leo Herlihy. The film was written by Waldo Salt, directed by John Schlesinger, and stars Jon Voight alongside Dustin Hoffman. Notable smaller roles are filled by Sylvia Miles, John McGiver, Brenda Vaccaro, Bob Balaban, Jennifer Salt and Barnard Hughes.
The film won three Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. It was the first gay-related Best Picture winner. In addition, it was the only X-rated film ever to win Best Picture, though such a classification no longer exists. It has since been placed 36th on the American Film Institute's list of the 100 greatest American films of all time, and 43rd on its 2007 updated version.
In 1994, the film was deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.
As the film opens, Joe Buck (Jon Voight), a young Texan working as a dishwasher, dresses in new cowboy clothing, packs a suitcase and quits his job. He heads to New York City, hoping to succeed as a prostitute. Initially unsuccessful, he succeeds in bedding a well-to-do middle-aged New Yorker (Sylvia Miles), but Joe ends up giving her money after she ends up lashing out at him when he requests payment.